Reese Lansangan is an unstoppable force. She’s in more than one band (apart from occasionally performing solo as well), a mixed media artist, a fashion designer, a writer and blogger, and a graphic designer. Basically, she’s multi-everything. In the age of the “anyone can be famous” thinking, Reese is a revelation. Her hard and persistent work sheds new light in the exhausting but satisfying creative process that most artists tend to want to forget. Apart from many contributions to publications such as Pepper and Young Star, Reese’s works have equally been featured, most prominently in Preview and Vogue Italia, which showcased her fashion collection Space and the Human Race. As a solo artist she’s performed in many events, most recently in I Know Write Manila's "Inspired By". And this December 6, Reese & Vica, a duo she's in, will also be releasing their second EP, Those Who Wander. FYI, we're just scratching the surface here--listing all her major accomplishments will take waaay too long. (WHAT A CV THIS ONE MUST HAVE AMIRITE?). As you are reading this, Reese is probably doing a gig somewhere (check out her packed schedule for November and December here), or piecing together a new collection, or traveling bright new cities, or writing new poems, or giving an inspiring talk to a crowd of hopefuls. Or who knows, maybe, like you and me, she’s just loafing around, eating junk food and figuring things out! Because despite being out-of-this-world-amazing, Reese is ultimately a human being. (An amazing human being we all understandably aspire to be, but flesh and bones still). Reese's no-shit and sometimes confessional blog entries strips her of glossy, unrealistic perfection and unmasks a vulnerable but amazingly honest artist. Her kooky aesthetic and fashion sensibilites, though far from looking like the girl next door's, is relatable and admirable because her passion shines through (as opposed to, say, expensive brands or another Tumblr rave). Her humanity seeps through the artist exterior, as evidenced by her warm reception of fans and people in general, and ultimately it seeps through her works. In the Gathering Season, Reese explores why collectors love to collect, and in DIY or DIE she figures out the why of creative processes. Her infinite love for the complex human race has got us infinitely loving her all the more! It's definitely an honor to speak with this inspiringly all-around artist. Read our interview with Reese, November's Girl of the Month, wherein we talk about peer jealousy, art, "building your own thrown", and of course, space (among many other things) and get to know more about this Renaissance Space Woman. ******************************************************************************************************Reinvent: So why don’t we start with how you describe yourself. In online bios you say you are many things you can’t compromise. Artist, musician, graphic and fashion designer. First of all, congratulations on that! But also, what are the best and worst things about being an all around artist? Also, great artists like Beyoncé andTavi Gevinson have this idea of "building your own throne", creating and following your own career and line of success. Do you agree with this? Are you, in your own way, building your own throne?

Reese: Thank you for mentioning Tavi Gevinson, as she is a (very loose) life peg of mine and I've been reading her since she was 12 and had blurry photos <3 Best things: I get to do the things I love without being restricted by anyone. I get to choose which things I could devote time to. I don't compromise, I don't have to give anything up completely. I get recognised for the work that I do, not for my profession or who I am.

Worst things: People get confused and often lump me to whatever word or title they can conveniently use. People question the validity of what I do sometimes, because they look at it as me not having focus. Instead of zeroing in on one thing and getting better at it faster, my eyes are on three things (music, design, fashion) and I get better at the three of them at a slower pace. I definitely abide to the idea that I am building my own throne, and it is a multi-stacked one that incorporates art, design, and music in a seat. I look at myself as an advocate of pursuing ALL the things you (really, really) love. Once you've narrowed it down to the non-negotiables, there is a way to be able to do them all without sacrificing quality. I want to keep pushing for doing the things that I love and not give anything up just because society tells me to, sometimes. I have a lot of people come up to me and ask me how I get to balance everything that I do, because they have always felt pressure to stick to one thing. I want to show people that they should not think of life as a search for "who" to become, but instead a constant questioning of "What should I do next?". That way, there is no pressure to stay the same all the days of your life. Change if you have to. Shift gears if you must. You're free to do whatever your heart wants.

Reese quotes Chuck Palahniuk on the importance of creative process in her experimental art book/senior thesis, DIY or DIE

Do you think you approach the different fields of art in different ways? Or is there a common aesthetic or message that binds it all—a seaweed wrapper that conveniently rolls up your artistic components? As for the seaweed wrapper (haha) : I guess the approach is roughly the same for every creative work that I do - research, ideation process, experiment, execution. I also always go back to my core influences - pop culture, science, nostalgia, childhood, world culture, Asian kitsch, and other silly things.

Last November 1 you tweeted “Can’t sleep—working on a master plan for my life”, and I can’t help but feel so excited for you! Could you give us a tiny peek as to what this master plan is? Well, sad to say I'm really not one to think far, far ahead, so there is no master plan yet as of the moment. But projects for next year: I am planning to take a very short internship abroad, planning another collage exhibit, planning to release my solo EP, planning to sell more stuff that relates to my art and design.

The duo Reese & Vica performing at Blackbird Bar

You’re a freelancer, so how does a typical work day run by? Do you have to squeeze ideas out of your mind or do they come more naturally?

Typical day: Wake up super early (thanks to my little sister who has morning classes in UP), go to my day job (family business), be on my email constantly, Instagram random stuff, finish work, and either A) go home, have dinner with my family, go do freelance illustration / design / fashion work, SLEEP when I can or B) go play a gig (solo, or with my band, Reese & Vica), enjoy, go home, do freelance illustration / design / fashion work, SLEEP. Then find time to tweet a haiku somewhere in the schedule.

My ideas are free-flowing and I often encounter it during car rides or at lunch break - mostly in moments I have for myself. The ideas are always there, it's just the execution and technique that's trickier for me to get at and narrow down.

A lot of our readers are in the transitioning stage—specifically, high school and college. When did you first realize that art is what you’ll be doing, and were you ever sure about making that decision?

There was no definite groundbreaking moment that I can remember, because falling in love with art and music and design all happened gradually. All I know is that doing creative work was automatic for me. There wasn't any other option. I couldn't fathom how living any other life would make me happy.

I’ve been exposed in the arts at a very young age, so much so that pursuing anything else seemed absurd and unthinkable to me. I knew nothing else. We own an art gallery so my parents are quite the enthusiasts who bought me all the art materials I could have access to as a young girl. It was automatic for me to draw and doodle, to emulate characters I was watching on TV (Sailormoon forevz) and draw them onto the flyleaves of my encyclopedia. I was always making handmade cards for every occasion, watching grown up craft shows on Lifestyle network, (making craft diva Carol Duvall my childhood hero) and doing everything on my own.

As for music, I didn't know it then, but I already fell in love with it as a very young kid. I could already belt out a full song by the age of two. The song was Bawal na Gamot. Nursery rhymes and biblical songs for children would be on repeat the entire day - and I knew every word to every song by heart. I was bought countless of cassette tapes, from Disney soundtracks to contemporary bands I didn't even know about until my Dad introduced me to them. He gave me my very first cassette tape - Spice World by Spice Girls and No Strings Attached by N'sync. My father's side was the musical one - everybody sang and had an instrument. My late dad used to play the guitar and the trumpet, and for family reunions, we would always have a father-daughter acoustic number which I would be so painfully shy about.

Collages tend to have an old, lived in quality to them that I'm really drawn into. Unlike other forms of art, collage is the only medium wherein you get to "borrow" certain things from different, pre-existing parts, put them together in your own way, to tell an entirely different story. Although there are a lot of similarities in themes, images, and techniques among collage artists, the ways in which you can arrange the broken elements are infinite. It's non-exclusive so you don't have to be skilled in illustrating or painting to be a collage artist. You just have to develop a keen sense of knowing when the elements are in their rightful places. My collages are partly planned, partly instinctive, which I think is the magic of collage. If you break down an existing collage piece of mine and I decide to work with the same cut-out elements on a different day, I'm pretty sure I'll be telling an entirely different story.

Polaroids of collectors' collections in The Gathering Season

You are, more or less, in the zeitgeist of the growing art scene in Manila. Do you have any positive opinions or negative comments about it?

I think it's great that the art scene in Manila is coming out stronger with the advent of Instagram & blogging. Appreciation for art and design blogs have been at an all time high these days, breeding more artists and encouraging them to share their work online. What I think has to be developed is our willingness to take our appreciation to the next level. We should try to go farther than appreciating art for what we see on screen, and go beyond saving things we like in folders so we could hoard them for ourselves. Support can also be shown by buying art if you have the means. A lot of people who appreciate art tend to scoff at it when an artist puts a price tag, leaving artists to remain struggling & starving. I hope there would be a willingness for people to sustain artists by buying their art, their prints, their products granted they have the resources.

"Unlike other forms of art, collage is the only medium wherein you get to 'borrow' certain things from different, pre-existing parts, put them together in your own way, to tell an entirely different story."

After majoring in Information Design in the Ateneo and winning the Magenta award in the Philippine Graphic Design Awards with your senior thesis "DIY or DIE" you went straight to SoFa to study fashion, and where you eventually made your brilliant "Space and the Human Race" collection, which was featured in Vogue Italia and Preview Magazine. How was that decision made? Are your narrowing your career line to fashion? I studied fashion to appease my younger, idealistic self that fell in love with it. I wanted to make my own clothes because I saw fashion as wearable art. It's basically being able to channel my artistic pursuits into something that could be worn on my body. My getting into fashion is admittedly more self-serving than anything. My only goal was to actually make fun clothes that embodies a big idea. I've always created for myself, and just find it as a rest bonus if other people seem to appreciate the work that I do. To sum that all up, I studied fashion not because I want to become a fashion designer. I just want to make art and express them through clothes.

My personal favorite of work of yours is the Virgin Suicides DVD package — it’s so comprehensive and achingly beautiful! What work or collection are you most proud of? Thank you! I am quite proud of that project as well! It was a school assignment, and we were tasked to "repackage" any movie that we liked. I really like having tangible things accompany my work, because it's something I appreciate a lot myself. I like things to appear well thought-of, and well connected with the subject. I thought the "ephemera box" would be perfect for The Virgin Suicides packaging, because so much of the movie revolved around loneliness and holding on to the life that they once knew through mementos and keepsakes littered in the Lisbon bedroom.

To date, I am still most proud of my Space and the Human Race collection - probably because in making that, I've encountered failure so many times. I had a vision for SPHR and I knew what I wanted it to look like, but I was working with difficult materials and the prototypes were just so far from the ideal. I was running out of time, and the grad collection frustrated me to no end. With all my failed experimentation, I was left to trust in the techniques that I knew best. I used digital printing and told stories through my collages, then added depth and detail with beading and embroidery. I consider it my big success because I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to achieve the kind of work that only existed in my head. I was discouraged by my failures and it took me some time to let go of the initial ideas I fell in love with, in order to come up with a collection that I love yet actually works. Working on my grad collection taught me so much, most especially the importance of being humble enough to admit defeat and start all over.

From your music to your fashion, you’ve made no secret about your deep love for outer space. What makes it so interesting to you? I can't even begin to explain why I find space fascinating. It's the unquantifiable size, the sheer UNKNOWN that envelopes us. And it's just OUT THERE, every time we look up the sky, that's space!! The stars that we see as twinkling dots are lightyears away, yet they shine in our night sky and we see them from where we are, and that's just magical to me. The fact that we have so many books written about space and yet we don't really know anything for certain. How 9 planets can suddenly become reduced to 8, then 9 again? How there is more space beyond the observable universe? Or even just the moon, how just one spherical rock has decided to stick with us and orbit around us, when other planets have 4, 16, more. And how people, actual humans, have reached this moon and stuck in their flags to its soil, and made it back here alive to tell about it? How in the vastness of the black, there could be other beings longing to connect like we are? So many things. Just so many things, really.

Fashion pieces from the Space and the Human Race collection

What works or which artists have inspired and influenced you/your works the most?

For art & design: Stefan Sagmeister and his brain, basically. He is a mad genius who constantly pushes the boundaries of design conveying information through effective visual communication. Tom Sachs and his methods of organisation, systems applied within the workplace, and his OCD. Eduardo Recife: the first collage artist I've ever discovered, who propelled me to get into mixed media in the first place. His work is so polished and seamless - until now I still think he remains to be the one of the best at the medium.

For fashion:Meadham Kirchhoff: their devotion to create FUN STUFF despite the cost + their commitment to their core aesthetics are just inspiring to meHussein Chalayan: his brain is of another level, and he is the only designer I know who incorporates a SOLID IDEA and marries technology with fashion that actually looks like fashion. His being able to execute and deliver his SUPER BIG IDEAS inspire me to keep thinking longer and harder, keep searching for more answers every time.

For music:Imogen Heap: she is basically a genius. A mad scientist that walks among us. More than her songwriting, it's her creativity and her desire to REALLY CONNECT her music to her listeners that's so powerful and awe-inspiring. It's how she fully embraces technology and marries that to tradition that makes her music uniquely her own. Regina Spektor: her body of work stretches far and wide and her lyrics are pure, accessible poetry.

Can you describe the process of creating something? What are the most challenging parts? The fun and rewarding parts?

I find that the research, sketching, and ideation process are the things I look forward to the most when starting a project. I love gathering information and learning as much as I can before I start working. The research satisfies me because it makes me understand further why I'm doing the work I'm about to do.

Prototyping is the most harrowing part. It's fun, yes, but it's hard to see yourself fail many times over. I'm not very great at taking failure. Most times, I'm too stubborn to admit defeat, so it takes me awhile to move past that. But once everything has been ironed out and I've gotten the groove, the execution of details becomes fun again!

In a blog post earlier this year, you’ve mentioned insecurities regarding talent and fame, and how they can be bolstered by the Internet. It’s so relatable and I can particularly relate to Insecurity # 2, “Peers Doing Well”. Have you come to terms with your own public person v.s. unabashed enthusiasm? Also, there’s this quote I’ve come across on the Internet many times, “Don’t compare your Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 20”, commonly attributed to the entrepreneur Evan Carmichael. Do you think this applies to art, or heck, life as well?

There's another quote by Theodore Roosevelt I try to live by, and it says "Comparison is the thief of joy". And it's true. One minute you're celebrating because of a job well done, then the next you're moping because you see a friend who did something awesome and you just feel, somehow, robbed. Why though? When we actually examine why we feel jealousy and envy, you realize that it's rooted in lack of contentment and endless comparison. It's not a healthy way to live. Whenever I find myself feeling particularly bad about a friend doing well, I always remind myself that their success does not subtract from my own success. It does not subtract from my own worth. And my jealousy won't make them less great - in fact they will still remain to be great despite how I feel. Jealousy and envy only affects me directly, and in a negative way at that. So I try to channel those feelings into positive things. I try to learn from my peers and be appreciative and kind and sincere. Because I wouldn't have gotten the support that I got from friends and family if they let themselves become a slave to their jealousy.

"Traveling is a way for me to recharge and shift gears." Reese in Hollywood, California

You often fly out of the country. What do you love most about traveling? At this point it's so cliche to say I love traveling because everybody does (I mean really, who doesn't?) But traveling is a way for me to recharge and shift gears. In Manila, I'm always being driven around from place to place, doing my routine. But when traveling, I'm armed with a list of things to do and places to go, I buy tickets to trains, and allow myself to get lost in that day's loose itinerary. I eat where my hunger catches me. I buy things from places that have caught my eye. It totally reverses the way I live. It gives me a feeling of independence and control that I often lose when I'm in a place I'm accustomed to. Of course, traveling also means experiencing an entirely different environment - weather, culture, surroundings, people. It's a shock for the senses, and you come back, somehow a different person every time. I really love it.Tell us about your studio, Soon the Moon. What is the general theme of the place, and what was the decoration process like? The theme is just to have a clean, bright workspace to put all my weird stuff in. All I ever ask from a workplace is for it to be well-lit and have all the stuff I'd ever need to create to be at hand. I took to magazines and Pinterest to build the details of my side of the room, while my sister did the same on her side. I filled my shelves with my art and design books, careful about the arrangement of the spines on the shelves. It was really a DIY endeavour - a huge project I worked on with my Mom and my sister, who both are passionate in interior design.

​(Left) Reese's side of the studio

What advice can you give young and fellow artists struggling to find their own voice and place in this crazy world of art?

I always say this - never stop creating, and never stop at bad work.

Finally, since I’ve just finished reading your zine, Today's Haiku (which is super fun and light hearted), can you write us an impromptu haiku to sum this whole interview up?

I spent quite some timeDigesting these questions thatDemand good answers

These women fought for their rights, hungered for knowledge, and strived to be where they are. Back then, men domineering over women was the norm and women were deemed aesthetic and an asset. But there are certain ladies that proved to society that women were deemed for brilliance. These women helped change the world around us:

Ada Lovelace

ADA LOVELACE

Augusta Ada Byron or more commonly known as Ada Lovelace is the world’s first computer programmer; she discovered an algorithm along with Charles Babbage that changed the computer world forever. If you studied computer programming and have felt the pain (or joy) of it, blame this woman. Although today, her title as the first computer programmer is still an ongoing debate.

HEDY LAMARR Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian Hollywood actress. She proved to be more than a pretty face when she co-invented the Frequency-Hopping Spread-Spectrum. Hedy learned about the science gizmo world when she married her first husband, Friedrich Mandl. Hedy joined her husband during meetings with scientists where they talked about military technology. At the height of the war, it was discussed that torpedoes used in naval battles were easily set off course by a frequency. Hedy and her neighbor, George Antheil, developed their invention that would require more power for torpedoes to set them off course. Although it wasn’t used during World War II, their invention was used during the Cuban war. It was rediscovered again in the 21st century and was adapted for the use of WiFi network connections, Bluetooth, and for cordless telephones.

Hedy Lamarr

Annie Jump Cannon

ANNIE JUMP CANNON Annie produced a classification system for the stars based on their Spectra. Before, people used to look at the stars and form different shapes. The Greeks even provided a story about the Orion constellation. A hunter called Orion, vowed to kill all the animals on Earth and Gaia was angry; and for this, the Gods placed Orion in the night sky. Annie, who has earned a lot of awards for her system, has helped us connect more with the heavenly and mysterious celestial space.

FRANÇOISEBARRÉ-SINOUSSI

Françoise was a French scientist who discovered HIV or Human Immunodefiency Virus as the cause of AIDS in the 1980s. In that time, people were having an epidemic called ‘AIDS’ commonly among gay men. Françoise looked for laboratories to have her researches and was repeatedly declined. Her mentor, Luc Montagnier was alongside her when they both discovered HIV. She won a Nobel Peace Prize for her discovery and is the President of the International AIDS Society.

Francoise Barre Sinoussi

Marie Curie

MARIE CURIE Marie Curie discovered the element Radium; in which she also discovered the term “radioactive” to describe the materials. Together with her husband, Pierre, they mixed and tested different elements to find different radioactive chemicals. They discovered Polonium and so many others. Marie died of aplastic anemia, which was caused by too much radiation. Marie Curie conquered the world of science; not only Chemistry, but also in Physics. She is the first woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, the first woman to get a Physics Nobel Prize and the first person to get a Nobel Peace Prize twice. Now, why can’t we be like that?

Meet Natalie Foss, an illustrator from Oslo, Norway and this month's #WomanCrushWednesday. Armed with her colored pencils and a knack for mystical pieces, Natalie is taking over the art world with her otherworldly drawings and we can't seem to get enough of them! We had the privilege to talk to Natalie about her works and here's what she has to say:

How did you find your own artistic style?

Maybe this will sound a little bit cliché, but I feel that my artistic style found me, and not the opposite! It took me many years to get a style that I felt was «mine», but one day it was there. When I least expected it! I remember I tried out something new, just for fun, and then I liked how it turned out.How do you choose what colors to use in your artworks? Do they play a significant role in each one?

I often think of how colors work together, how they can emphasise one another. I tend to choose contrasting and «clean» colors, to add a bit of freshness to the image, as some of them are a bit melancholic/dark.

How long does it take you to finish one artwork? What's your creative process like?

It usually takes between 5 to 8 hours (plus, minus), depending on how many details there are in the image.

Sometimes I sketch the idea first, and then I start drawing. Other times I am too impatient, and have to draw the idea straight away. I draw the outlines first, with a thin, blue pencil. Then I start coloring. The coloring is the part of the process that I spend most time on.

What is one art material you can't live without?

Colored pencils! (Faber-castell.)

Which do you prefer more? Digital art or traditional art? Why?There are great artworks in both the digital and traditional art world, but I prefer traditional art. There is something about the textures and the process in traditional art that I like a lot.Which modern artists do you look up to or seek inspiration from?

I like many different artists, but I’ve never really had any «special» ones that I seek inspiration to. Maybe I’ve been too afraid of getting affected by other artist's styles? I’m not sure! There are of course modern artists that I really admire and look up to! Hope Gangloff, Jen Mann, Agnes-Cecile, Kemi Mai, Esra Røise, Magnus Voll Mathiassen, Ryan Humphrey and Anders Røkkum are some of the artists that I’ve been checking out lately. I love their styles.Why do you think art is essential for humanity to progress?

You can express yourself with art in a completely different way than with words, and I think this is very important to many people. Art is a universal language, sort of. There are so many good things about making art and expressing yourself, and it can be used in both therapy and learning. We always try to understand things in new and different ways, and this applies to art too. People need creativity.

Lastly, what do you personally think makes an artwork unique or "out of this world"?

That’s a difficult one! I’m not really sure if I have a good answer. Wisely used colors draws my attention, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s unique.

Maybe when you can see that people have put a lot of their personality, «soul» and effort in their artwork.

Let’s admit it. We all fantasize about living in another world; a world where we have no limits, a world where things are how we want them to be, a world that is perfect. As normal human beings, we all want an escape from reality once in a while but the thing is, we cannot just take off, leave everything behind, and have an adventure. That is where daydreaming comes in and it is both a beautiful and haunting thing.

THE BEAUTY

Is it not a wonderful feeling knowing that you can travel millions of miles, be with your dream partner, have an epic journey, invent something that defies the laws of physics, discover a never before seen historic sight, and most importantly be the person you have always wanted to be with just a single fantasy? True, it might not be our reality but sometimes in life you need it. Your whole life can’t be all about the harsh reality you live in. Sometimes, you just need the impossible in your life, even if it’s just a little bit of it. There is no crime in wanting to be happy with a dream. At times, our daydreams even serve as a beacon of hope in the midst of the darkness in our lives or as an inspiration or springboard to realize our greatest dreams. Daydreaming becomes a storyboard on what we envision for our future. And I believe that as long as we know our limits, then having this in our lives is really amazing.

THE BEAST

If there’s one thing that I am really afraid of, it’s trapping myself in my own daydreams; distorting reality and fiction in my head. We usually use daydreaming as a means of creating a world where we have no problems and that’s perfectly fine. The bad aspect of this though is using it as an escape every single time responsibility and adversities come knocking up your door. No matter how much you dream of that perfect world where there are no problems, they will still exist. As I said, daydreaming is a magnificent thing but only when used in moderation and in a good way: as a positive channel to realize a fantasy or a dream into reality. You can’t have too much of the good stuff because how will you know what’s good if you don’t experience the bad?

At the end of the day, fantasizing and its effect in your world of reality and life will be up to you. You can use it as a positive or negative influence in your life. I personally believe though, that we should try to live a life where our reality is so good that we only daydream because we want to be able to create an even better world for ourselves and for the people we love. Would it not be great to live out your daydreams? The world you have always been dreaming of is always a possibility; everything is in the palm of your hands. No one else will be able to make your fantasies come true but yourself. No matter how crazy it seems, you can do it. The first step is to believe in yourself. So start today!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the endless scrolls of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, it’s that we’re so goddamned afraid to be bored. When we’re faced with long stretches of time, we’d like to think that, hey, this is good, I can finally relax after all those stressful cramming and essay writing. But in actuality, that relaxation lasts for about, a day at most, and then when you can’t seem to do anything, when social media finally runs out of ways to please you, you stare straight up the ceiling and exclaim “Wow I’m bored.” But in this media-obsessed culture, in this day-and-age where most of our beloved celebrities are those with (seemingly) eventful lives, the worst sin that you can commit is admit that you don’t know what to do.

Why are we afraid to be bored? Because somehow, we believe this Betty Draper saying:

Even though we shouldn’t! Being boring will be the death of the typical millennial—you want to seem quirky, interesting, cool. This is a fast-paced world we live in, and if you’re not doing anything, you’re judged as dull, tedious, boring. And who’d want to be with someone like that?

So everyone’s demanding company (“Someone please go watch Gone Girl with me!”) or posting pictures of being with a group, or anyone really, sometimes just to prove that they’re not uneventful. They’re fun and cool. But…isn’t that tiring? When we’re bored, we’re actually given an opportunity to spend some healthy time with ourselves, and I guess this is why we’re so afraid of being bored—because we still don’t know who “ourselves” really are, and we don’t want to confront icky feelings like disappointment, sadness or loneliness. Our Instagram feeds should be happy! And cool! And energizing and young and free and YOLO and infinity! Sprak nayshun guys!

Ugh. Give yourself space and time, girl. The next time you feel bored, take it as the Universe’s way of telling you “Hey, it’s time to get reflexive and hang out with yourself.” Personally, I’ve learned a lot from alienating myself from the bandwagon. Without the pressure of trends, I realized on my own what I actually and truly like and don’t like, what I find funny and corny, what I like reading, etc. And it’s just super empowering to realize that all along, I held the reigns on my own taste. I still get bored, sure, but at least I know that I can depend on myself to fix that, or simply not care what others think. So trust me, being alone doesn’t always mean having to be lonely.

Here are some quick tips on how to make the most out of your boredom and alone time:

1. Develop a hobby into a skill If you haven’t got one yet, you could think about the things you enjoy the most (Shopping? Taste-testing? Writing?) and try to do some more research about those activities, and perhaps create something in the process. Taking a hobby seriously might make you discover a hidden talent you never knew you had in you. Who knows? A lot of popular bakeries started out as passing the time making oatmeal fudge brownies. And maybe those long-ass tweets that entertain plenty could be made into a career of entertainment writing? Plus, I know a lot of people who used to doodle on everything for fun, and who now doodle on everything for fun and money. They are now successful graphic designers and illustrators. (italicized because those titles sound so fancy).

2. Treat Yo’ Self! Donna Meagle and Tom Haverford may be bat-shit crazy about a lot of things, but this isn’t one of them. My typical Treat Yo’ Self day would be: watching a movie, getting a mani-pedi, and buying myself tons of stuff from the book/DVD/clothes store, which I usually top off by eating a very delicious and unhealthy cupcake. Splurging on yourself during alone time is not only a fun way to pass the time, but also a way to learn how to be more comfortable being with yourself. I find that a lot of people, especially those glued-on to social media, are anxious of being seen alone because of the mentioned (false) link between Alone and Loneliness. This dependency on what others think is impeding you from growing into a self-sufficient person with her own taste, so the faster you grow out of that, the better. And you can start by treating yo’ self. (Also, I recommend reading this excellent essay by the IDGAF Queen herself, Tavi Gevinson about how not to care what other people think of you). 3. Experiment “The world is your oyster!”, they say. “Everything true is a cliché!”, they also say. This third tip is so common and overused that I’m using common and overused sayings to explain it. “It’s been said, many times, many ways…” but you just have to try things you’ve never imagined yourself doing, or even enjoying. If something, say, a movie review, has sparked the tiniest interest in your heart, then by all means, read some more movie reviews and watch some more movies out of the ordinary platter and critique them yourself! Trying sucks sometimes, because failure can come out of it and ruin self-esteem like a bitch, but, in all honesty I truly believe that everyone has their own calling, and everyone has got something to show for the world, and if you don’t experiment, you might never find that calling, so go forth and crush that calling and prove that trying can be worth it! *If you only have to remember one thing about this list it’s this: the key is passion. Once you determine what you really care about and enjoy doing, being bored won’t be as daunting or embarrassing as you think it to be. So there you have it. I admit, I may be the most ill equipped person to be giving advice about life. And sometimes, I think my alone time is at an unhealthy proportion to time spent with people. (And I may not stick to my own list 100% of the time). But I do know myself, and it’s such a comfort to just return to what I know, and fulfill my own standards (which aren’t at all low I must say!), and just my own definition of terms like “happiness” and “fun” and “boredom.” So yeah, I may be alone, but don’t you dare say that I’m lonely because hanging out with myself, with my music and books and hobbies, is definitely more exciting than getting into a club, taking a selfie and tweeting “having so much fun” when you know deep down you are anything but.